Advent #4 - We Will Reign With Him

Joy is like happiness, but better. Happiness is like Joy’s little sister. Happiness is like when you take a bite of a just-baked, warm, chocolate chip cookie.

But joy is like discovering that you can make a chocolate chip cookie and make somebody else feel happy.

Joy is like Happiness’s big sister. Joy is what happens when Jesus takes happiness and shines His blessing on it. And at the heart of the Christmas story is life-changing, world-changing, history-making joy.

We would sit under the tree and open these wonderful presents. One year I got a G.I. Joe jet plane. And I was so excited about that jet plane that I spent the rest of the day flying it around the house and making up songs about it.

But my happiness was nothing compared to my dad’s joy. And do you know what? I understand it now. He was full of joy because he made us happy. In the Bible, God’s special book, Jesus says “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” ()

Christmas starts with God. God made you and me to shine with His goodness and glory everywhere we go. He made you as a treasure to show the world what a treasure He is. That’s what it means to glorify Him. To show and tell what a treasure He is.

And God made you and me to shine with His goodness and glory everywhere we go. He made you as a treasure to show the world what a treasure He is. That’s what it means to glorify Him. To show and tell what a treasure He is.

But the people God made didn’t obey God or trust His words, and because they disobeyed, death came into the world. Sin is disobeying God. And sin and death have been in the world ever since. And the Bible tells us that because we all sin and serve ourselves instead of shining with God’s goodness and glory, everybody in the whole world needs to be saved, to be rescued from our sins. Because if we aren’t rescued, then God will have to punish us for our sins forever in hell.

But God loves us, and He had a plan to rescue people from their sins.

And God had a plan to rescue people from their sins, even before He made you and me or anything else.

It’s a plan full of joy because God gave the greatest gift we could ever receive. And children and grown ups just like you and me, and even angels, have been writing songs about it ever since God gave us this amazing gift.

The Christmas story is the turning point in God’s great rescue plan.

On Christmas, God the Father sent His Son to be born like you and me. The way John chapter 1:14 says it, “The Word [that’s God the Son - God’s Son] became flesh and dwelled among us.”

Now kids, I’m going to take a moment to talk to the teens and grown ups, ok?

As you turn to , you might be wondering how this text is going to tie into Christmas.

Advent series - have been looking at God’s promises in the Old Testament fulfilled in Christ. Today, look at a couple of Christ’s promises fulfilled in us as we answer the question:

Q: How does Jesus strengthen us in the midst of hardship?

Organization:

I. Entrust yourself to Jesus (2:1-7)

<<READ vv1-7>>

B. Three examples showing faithful endurance (Soldier, athlete, farmer)

Soldier

C. The reward for endurance: Christ’s pleasure, a crown, the crops

<<READ vv1-7>>

The heart of verses 1-7 is Paul’s concern that Timothy would be able to do what God called him and sent him to do. So Paul sets out to encourage Timothy to keep going in faithfulness to Jesus.

So he starts out <<v1>>, “You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus.”

Everything that Timothy needs to keep going in faithfulness is from God and is a gift to Timothy. The grace that strengthens him is in Christ Jesus. His identity and calling comes from Jesus as “the one who enlisted him”. His growth in understanding comes from Jesus according to v7. Timothy’s success in Jesus’s mission for him is dependent on Timothy’s dependence on Jesus.

Everything that Timothy needs to keep going in faithfulness is from God and is a gift to Timothy. The grace that strengthens him is in Christ Jesus. His identity and calling comes from Jesus. His growth in understanding comes from Jesus. Timothy’s success is not wrapped up in Timothy’s talent or self-effort. Paul is absolutely convinced that Timothy’s success in Jesus’s mission for him is dependent on Timothy’s dependence on Jesus.

And here’s what Paul wants Timothy to do, in verses 2-7. Verse 2 says that Timothy’s job is to entrust the Good News about Jesus to faithful men who can teach others. Throughout 1-2 Timothy, Paul tells Timothy to teach, preach, pass on, and guard the true and trustworthy message about Jesus Christ.

Kids, let me ask you this: If someone wants to get really strong, what should they do? <<WAIT>> Exercise! So think about this with me - imagine a very weak person who starts exercising every day. And after two years, they have become very strong. Do you know someone who’s really strong?

Paul wants Timothy to become spiritually strong - so that he can do what God called him to do. Did you know that God wants you to be spiritually strong, too? Only Christians can become truly spiritually strong, because the grace that is in Christ Jesus - the gift of God’s love and blessing - the thing that strengthens us - that is a gift that God gives to everyone who turns away from sin and asks Jesus to be their savior. So if we want to be spiritually strong the way God wants us to be, the very first thing we should do is to become Christians by putting our trust in Jesus Christ as our savior.

In , he calls it “the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.” In the next verse, he calls it “the good deposit entrusted to you,” and he says Timothy must guard it by the Holy Spirit.

In verses 3-6, Paul gives Timothy another exhortation: Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.

Galatians 1:8 ESV

8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.

In verses 3-6, Paul gives Timothy another exhortation: Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.

Jesus did not call Timothy to do something easy. In fact, Jesus says to every one of us,

Matthew 16:24 ESV

24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

To walk with Christ Jesus is not a leisurely sight-seeing stroll. Paul says it’s more like a military expedition, an Olympic competition. It’s more like a day on the farm than a day at the park.

Remaining faithful to Jesus over time requires God’s grace to strengthen us. And that means we must entrust ourselves to the One who enlisted us.

Note all the ways Paul points to Timothy’s need to trust Jesus.

Each one of the examples in verses 3-6 points to a different kind of suffering or struggle. The soldier faces hardship and even death for the cause he fights for. Paul says no soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits - the word entangled evokes a sheep getting its wool caught up in thorns.

As soldiers of Christ, on the mission He’s given us, it’s really easy to get entangled in what Paul calls “civilian affairs.” Paul might be pointing to the Parable of the Sower, where Jesus talks about how God’s Word has different effects in different peoples’ lives. Jesus says that some people hear the Gospel, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, like thorns choke out a plant, and their fruit doesn’t mature.

In , Paul tells Timothy that one of their friends, a man named Demas, has deserted him because he was “in love with this present world.” “Civilian affairs” entangled him like thorns, and he deserted his post.

The good soldier loves to please Jesus Christ more than he loves the pleasures of the world.

In verse 5, Paul changes the image. The ancient Olympic games had very specific rules, including a mandatory training regimen. Paul points out that you can’t win if you’re disqualified. In this case, the rules point to the pattern of life and doctrine that God has given us.

In verse 6, the farmer who gets the first share of the crops is hard-working. These 3 pictures point us back again to the impossibility of doing this in our own power. We need the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

These 3 pictures also point us to the rewards for faithfulness. Verse 4 - the pleasure of Jesus Christ; verse 5 - the crown - the symbol of victory. And verse 6 - the first share of the crops.

They’re commanded not

John MacArthur makes a good point on verse 6 - He says the time he spends studying Scripture benefits him first, he gets the first share, before anyone else benefits from his study. I find this to be true, too.

Because the LORD first works in me through His Word. The Word of God nourishes me, and then I’m able to bring it to you.

And this brings us to a clear application of verses 1-7. If God is the one who strengthens us, and if He does it entirely by His grace, then we should seek God’s strength in the places He has promised to give it. The portrait of a faithful, mature Christian that Paul gives is one who has been strengthened by grace, in Christ, in prayer, in the Word, in community.

The

If you know the Lord, then His Holy Spirit dwells within you, according to , and Jesus Christ stands at the right hand of the Father to intercede for you according to . You need to be strengthened in order to keep going in faithfulness, so go to the Lord in prayer and ask for His strength.

When you deny yourself and devote yourself to the mission of Jesus Christ, and to the suffering that accompanies it, there are

Paul also expects us to pursue strength by going back to the faithful Word of God again and again. Echoing verses 1-2, in and following, Paul tells Timothy

2 Timothy 3:14–17 ESV

14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it 15 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

2 tim 3.14-

Again, in verses 1-2, Paul envisions Timothy taking what he learns from Paul and spending time engaging in the Word with other Christians. People who are convinced they don’t need to be connected to a local church are setting themselves up for a major spiritual fall. But if you want to be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, go where He has promised to give that strength. In , Paul says:

Again, in verses 1-2, Paul envisions Timothy taking what he learns from Paul and spending time engaging in the Word with other Christians. A Christian without a church is not just unimaginable from a Biblical perspective, it’s a self-inflicted spiritual wound. Each of us has been given spiritual gifts for the building up of the Body of Christ, the Church. We need one another. People who are convinced they don’t need to be connected to a local church are setting themselves up for a major spiritual fall. But if you want to be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, go where He has promised to give that strength. In , Paul says:

Ephesians 4:11–16 ESV

11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

eph 4.11-

I remember how much I hated group projects in high school, because it meant my grade was at least partially in someone else’s hands. I didn’t want that, because I didn’t want to entrust myself to someone else. We do the s

CHRISTMAS HERE

When you deny yourself and devote yourself to the mission of Jesus Christ, and to the suffering that accompanies it, there are

strengthened so that he

In verses 1-7, key phrase is “share in suffering.”

Context: 1-2 Timothy are written to Paul’s missionary partner, a young man named Timothy. Timothy first shows up in , and he immediately becomes a traveling partner with Paul’s band of missionaries. Becomes a major part of Paul’s ministry, and shows himself to be trustworthy. More than once, Paul leaves Timothy behind after planting a church and entrusts pastoring the church to Timothy. In , Paul says this about Timothy:

Philippians 2:19–24 ESV

19 I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered by news of you. 20 For I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. 21 For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. 22 But you know Timothy’s proven worth, how as a son with a father he has served with me in the gospel. 23 I hope therefore to send him just as soon as I see how it will go with me, 24 and I trust in the Lord that shortly I myself will come also.

In fact, Paul references Timothy in 2 Cor, Phil, Colossians, 1-2 Thess, and Philemon.

2 Timothy - written by Paul from Rome, imprisoned in Rome (2nd imprisonment there, re: Acts - Rome, then released, eventually imprisoned again), near end of life.

Paul calls him “my child” (v1 and also ) because he became a Christian through Paul’s preaching.

Throughout 1-2 Tim, Paul reminds Timothy

Keep careful watch on the teaching & doctrine - “guard the good deposit” - the Gospel is God’s message, and the Scriptures are God’s Word, and no one has the right to change them or distort them (, , , , , ). Faithfully preach the truth about Jesus (2 Tim 4:1-5)

1 Timothy 1:15–20 ESV

15 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. 16 But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. 17 To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. 18 This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, 19 holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith, 20 among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.

1 tim 1:15-

1 Timothy 4:16 ESV

16 Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.

1 tim 4:16

His ministry is a kind of warfare, fight, race (, , , )

Be on lookout for troublemakers, esp. those who have “swerved” from the Truth (, , , , )

Be on lookout for troublemakers, esp. those who have “swerved” from the Truth (, , , , :1-9)

Avoid troublemakers & flee the things that endanger the soul (, , , , , , ,

Be on lookout for troublemakers,

“Trustworthy sayings” (, , , :11)

Hymns (some of which probably written by Paul himself) (:16)

So here in , “Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.” Comes after -

2 Timothy 1:8–9 ESV

8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, 9 who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began,

2 Timothy 1:8 ESV

8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God,

Paul’s theology of suffering with/for Christ/the Gospel -

II. Endure by remembering Jesus (2:7-13)

Let’s look at verses 7-13. This is our second main point - and kids, we’re halfway through, so we’re going to do something a little different for a minute. Let’s memorize verse 8 together. Adults, help me out. I know, this is out of your comfort zone, but the kids are going to love it if you participate. Kids, stand up

2 Timothy 2:8 ESV

8 Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel,

2 Timothy 2:7

Remember <<point to head>> // Jesus Christ <<JC>> // risen from the dead <<arms raise>> // the offspring of David <<CROWN>> // as preached in my gospel <<megaphone>>

Jesus Christ <<JC>> // risen from the dead <<arms raise>> // the offspring of David <<CROWN>> // as preached in my gospel <<megaphone>>

REPEAT 3x WITH REFERENCE

That’s fantastic! You did so well. Here’s the rest of the passage.

<<READ 8-13>>

EXPLAIN:

Paul has a

Kids, in these verses, Paul is reminding Timothy about a lot of things about Jesus, to help him keep going and stay faithful to Jesus, even when things get really, really hard.

Paul tells Timothy to remember some things about Jesus so he would keep going.

He says that Jesus is the Christ - that means He’s the special one that God sent to save us. When we call Him “Jesus Christ,” it’s like calling him “Jesus the King of Kings” or “Jesus the Savior.”

He says to remember that Jesus is risen from the dead, the offspring of David. Jesus is risen because He died on the cross to pay for our sins, and just like He promised, He rose on the third day.

Paul says that Jesus is the offspring of David, because a long, long time before Jesus was born, God promised King David that one day, one of his descendants would be King forever and rescue God’s people. And Jesus is that King! <<CHRISTMAS>>

Let’s do our memory verse again:

2 Timothy 2:8 ESV

8 Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel,

Paul was suffering because he refused to change his Gospel.

But verse 10 reminds us that Paul had first-hand experience that even when he was imprisoned, God’s Gospel had a way of working anyway. When he was imprisoned and writing the letter to the Philippians, he said that his chains ended up helping the progress of the Gospel. His chains made other Christians bolder in their testimony.

So he says he endures everything for the sake of God’s elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.

Far from discouraging Paul

Scripture teaches us that from all eternity past, God knew humanity would sin, and He also knew who He was rescuing when Jesus died. When Paul mentions “God’s elect” here, it reminds Timothy that God’s plan isn’t thrown off when Paul or Timothy suffers. It never takes God by surprise when things seem to be totally out-of-control. In Paul’s suffering, his endurance - his continued faithfulness to Jesus - ends up being an instrument for others to hear the Gospel and obtain salvation in Christ Jesus, and verse 10 says “with eternal glory.”

Kids, say something with me. Say “Glory.” Now, I want you to say it like my choir teacher in college, when we were singing a southern Gospel song. GLOW-ry.

But Paul doesn’t just call

Glory is a shiny word. It glows. Last week, we saw that glory has to do with God’s worth. Glory is everything that makes God wonderful and praiseworthy. Salvation with eternal glory means God doesn’t just rescue us from our sins; He promises to make us like Jesus, to make us shine with His glory - to glow with His goodness, and holiness, and love.

2 Corinthians 3:18 ESV

18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

But there’s something even more in our future, because of what Jesus has done for us. Verses 11-12 say <<READ>>

Verses 11-13 make up what Paul calls a “trustworthy saying.” That means it’s a promise. It’s a faithful word. Everyone who puts their faith in Jesus Christ as Lord is united with Him in His death.

Galatians 2:20 ESV

20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

If you have trusted in Christ, Paul says, the faithful word - the promise - is that you will also live with him. As Jesus says,

John 6:47 ESV

47 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.

That’s the first promise. The second one, in verse 12, says <<READ>>

Do you remember the very first Beatitude?

Matthew 5:3 ESV

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Also:

Matthew 5:11–12 ESV

11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Matthew 5:10 ESV

10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

John 1:12 ESV

12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,

Matthew 5:9 ESV

9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

Romans 8:16–17 ESV

16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

If you trust in Christ Jesus and endure to the end, God has promised that your future is glorious.

But, there’s also a warning here in v12.

If we deny him, he will also deny us.

When Jesus sent out the disciples into the villages, he sent Judas with all the rest of the disciples. Judas ate with Jesus, he walked from town-to-town with Jesus. He appeared to be faithful for a long time. Jesus knew what was in Judas’s heart, he knew that Judas would betray him. From God’s eternal perspective, it is clear to Him who He means when He refers to the Elect.

But for us, living in time, without His foreknowledge and without perfectly knowing His plans, we must remember that Jesus has told us “the one who endures to the end will be saved.” And He also warns us

Matthew 10:32–33 ESV

32 So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, 33 but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.

mat 10.31-3

So is there hope for those whose faith is wavering? For those who want to walk with Christ, but their hearts seem divided?

That hope comes in the very next verse, : <<READ 13>>

But for us, in the here-and-now,

Denial in verse 12 is a very strong term for absolute rejection. And it’s the same word that’s used when Peter denies Christ three times. But even before Peter denied Him, Jesus already knew that Peter would come back. That was the difference between Peter and Judas. Peter’s denial was the momentary victory of sin over love, followed by repentance and restoration. Judas’s betrayal was full and final.

In both Peter and Judas’s case, Jesus remained faithful. And that’s where our hope rests. Jesus remains faithful. He pursued Peter like a good shepherd pursues a lost sheep, even before Peter knew he was straying.

Because it is in Jesus’s nature to remain faithful. He cannot deny himself.

So if your faith seems weak today, remember Jesus.

Kids, remember our memory verse?

2 Timothy 2:8 ESV

8 Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel,

Remember Him, because He remains faithful. Remember what He has done for us.

We started verse 1 by pointing out that Timothy was being called to keep going in faithfulness to Jesus. Even if it got hard. Because you can entrust yourself to Him.

And the best way to be strengthened when your faith is weak, when you’re not sure how much endurance you’ve got, is to go where He has promised to strengthen you.

In , Paul tells the story of the thorn in his flesh. He doesn’t tell us what the thorn was, but it was probably some kind of physical ailment. It would not go away. So how did Paul respond? Did he give up? Did he despair?

He went to the LORD in prayer. In fact, he says that three times he pleaded with God to take away the thorn. And Jesus said,

2 Corinthians 12:9–10 ESV

9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

2 Corinthians 12:9 ESV

One of the great surprises of the Christian life is that being strengthened doesn’t always look like we would expect it to. We would think that if God wanted Paul to be strong, he’d take away every illness and sorrow. But instead, God wants Paul to see His power to bring about salvation in weakness. When Paul is in chains, the Gospel goes forth free. When Paul is weak, the power of Christ goes forth anyway.

We shouldn’t be surprised that this is how it turns out. In the Garden of Gethsemane, on the night when Judas betrayed him, Jesus prayed to the Father three times, asking “Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. Yet not as I will, but your will be done.”

And the next day, the King of kings, the Creator of all things, the Son of David, now beaten and flogged, his flesh torn and his glory mocked with a crown of thorns, ascended the hill with a cross on his back, like a beast of burden, tortured to death on that cross, humiliated. It looked like failure. It looked like weakness.

But it was endurance. It was a different kind of might than we would expect.

It was a different kind of victory.

They laid him in a tomb, and shut out the daylight with a sealed stone.

But the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world is the light of the world. And the light shone in the darkness on the morning of the third day, and the glory of the LORD was now on display. The mystery of God’s salvation plan was now accomplished. And from then on, we never looked at a manger and a cross as weakness or poverty or defeat again. Because you see, the glory of the Messiah is on display from Manger to empty Tomb.

But

says that for the joy that was set before him, Jesus endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. It says

Hebrews 12:3 ESV

3 Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.

heb 12.3

So we remember Jesus Christ so that we can endure, too.

He stepped down on purpose, to raise us up from the grave. He stepped down in faithfulness, taking on human flesh and remaining faithful even to death on the cross, entrusting Himself to His Father’s will. And you can step out in faith, entrusting yourself to Him, too.

Trust often seems like weakness, but

We must take this warning seriously.

A. The command to consider & remember

B. The identity of Christ in Paul’s Gospel (CHRISTMAS)

C. Suffering for the sake of the Gospel, the elect, the glory

D. The trustworthy saying

Promise 1: We will live w/ Him

Promise 2: We will reign w/ Him

Warning 1: He will deny us

Promise 3: He will remain faithful

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